Botanical classification/cultivar denomination: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar NPCW02042.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98NPCW02042xe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Stuttgart, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create new freely branching Poinsettia cultivars with upright and uniform plant habit and attractive flower bract coloration.
The new Poinsettia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1997 of a proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number P 466, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent, with a proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number S 219, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar NPCW02042 was discovered and selected by the Inventor in 1999 as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Stuttgart, Germany. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive leaf and flower bract coloration and uniform plant habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by vegetative terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Stuttgart, Germany since 2000, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98NPCW02042xe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98NPCW02042xe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Poinsettia cultivar:
1. Upright and uniform plant habit.
2. Dark green-colored leaves.
3. Dark red-colored flower bracts that resist fading.
4. Early flowering; response time, about 7.5 weeks.
5. Good post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia differ from plants of the parent selections primarily in plant habit and flower bract coloration.
Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the cultivar 490, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,825. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Stuttgart, Germany, plants of the new Poinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar 490 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia flowered about five days later than plants of the cultivar 490.
2. Flower bract color of plants of the new Poinsettia was darker red than flower bract color of plants of the cultivar 490.